White Knight Chronicles: Spirit Within
by QueenoftheWolves83
Summary: A young man never really expected to go on an adventure. Least of all an adventure to save a princess. But he did. And all the time he never realized that he'd meet a young girl who'd make him question what it really means to be a pactmaker. (Current Status: Being rewritten)
1. Prologue: A History

**This my first White Knight Chronicles story. I intend for it to be a chapter story. How many chapters I'm not entirely sure yet. But somewhere between ten and twenty-five chapters, I think. It honestly depends on my inspiration, time, and creativity. I don't want to give you guys a dull story, after all.**

 **So read and review.**

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own White Knight Chronicles nor White Knight Chronicles II. I own the idea of this story and my OCs only.

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 _Once, a longeth timeth ago, centuries 'ere, thither wast two great empires: Yshrenia to the east, Athwan to the west._

 _Yshrenia was an empire of advanc'd machin'ry. Athwan was an empire of charm. 'twas haply unthinkable to us that these two great empires couldst ev'r liveth in peace…but they did. the two empires liv'd in peace with one anoth'r f'r many a year. With the establishment of tradeth, they prosp'r'd greatly. As a symbol of peace and friendship, Yshrenia built Athwan an airship. Athwan, in turneth, gave Yshrenia a small gift of charm. Small though 'twas, Yshrenia appreciat'd the gift nonetheless._

 _They liv'd in peace and prosp'rity. . . . until Mad'ras took the throne. From thither, ev'rything chang'd. Mad'ras began to invade oth'r lands, wanting to expandeth the Yshrehian Empire, built t'rrible machines of great destruction, and took advantage of the bawbling gift of charm that Athwan bestow'd upon the empire. 'Twas not longeth 'ere queen Mureas of Athwan stepp'd in and declar'd war on Yshrenia, out of the hopeth that her war declaration wouldst focus Yshrenia's attention on Athwan and not on the lands unable to defend themselves. Her war declaration w'rked: Yshrenia's focus was on Athwan._

 _F'r the first ten years of the war that wouldst lat'r be known as the Dogma Wars, it appear'd that the Athwani empire was winning. But. . . . then Yshrenia built t'rrible machines: Knights that wast inhumanely tall. Soon, the tide of war turn'd in Yshrenia's fav'r. Thither wast five in total: Wizel, the white knight, Luthia, the Moon Maiden, Larvayne, the Dragon Knight, Dinivas, the Black Knight, and Adolmaea, the Sun King._

 _These "knights", call'd Inc'rrupti (singular: Inc'rruptus), wast able to cuteth down ten to twenty people with just one bloweth and it wasn't longeth 'ere Athwani soldi'rs wast running f'r their lives. Despite their t'rrible destructive capablities, the "knights" wast not able to moveth on their owneth: they requir'd human souls to moveth. The Yshrenian Empire couldst not useth adult souls. The "knights" wouldst be c'rrupt'd. They discov'r'd souls of newb'rn infants couldst controleth the "knights" without c'rrupting them._

 _Yea though the "knights" gave Yshrenia the upp'r handeth, Queen Mureas refus'd to giveth up, yea when the death toll reach'd o'er thirty thousand. But the citizens of Athwan wast giving into feelings of despair and hopelessness and the m'rale of the soldi'rs was low. They had gotten sick of the war and want'd it to endeth. The people wast hungry, food was scarce, money was decreasing, and the civilians wast growing increasingly enchafed. All this ledeth to a rebellion and Athwan was wound'd from within. Civil war finally broke out and the queen was kill'd. At the same timeth, Emp'r'r Mad'rs of Yshrenia disappear'd. People assum'd that he was kill'd as well. That mark'd the endeth of the Dogma Wars._

 **-Exc'rpt from "Dogma age: a Hist'ry of Yshrenia, Athwan, and the Dogma Wars." 22 Age of Ev̱i̱mería. Yavyane Dragonfoot.**

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 **A/N: This was originally written in our modern English, but I used a Shakespearean modern English conversion site to translate the prologue into what you just read. It may not be a hundred percent correct, but I did my best with what I had to work with.**


	2. Chapter 1: The Day Before

**So this is the first chapter of** White Knight Chronicles: Spirit Within **and it's been rewritten. It's longer now and there are _actual_ paragraphs! No more single sentences. Well, not as ****_many_** **single sentences. Is this story going to be dark? Not overly I don't think. If it does, I'll post a warning at where it begins to darken. But I don't think it'll get that way. Not for this story at least.**

 **I have written five pages and 2, 741 words for this chapter** **(and that does _not_ include my author notes)** **. I am proud. Now I just have to write more than that and I'll be even prouder.**

 **Read and Review.**

 **Disclaimer:** It's already been established that I don't own none of the White Knight Chronicle games. I only own any OCs that might appear within. I think I don't have to do this again?

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Léon walked into Balandor, weary after weeks of travel. He had come in search of some work, hoping to make a living and gain more knowledge of the world while he was at it. Balandor, to be honest, was not his first choice, but the last time he was in Greede he got both him and his people banned from the city. He deeply regretted his actions that lead to it, but he still believed that he reacted appropriately. Even if the people he considered family said otherwise...

Long story short, due to him being banned from Greede, his second choice—really his only choice because he couldn't handle the heat in Albana very well and, despite his honey-colored complexion, he burned rather easily—was Balandor and he didn't think too highly of it. Sure, the wine was good and the weapons were of decent quality, but the kingdom's war history was too colorful for his taste and much too willing to jump into disputes that didn't involve them.

Hence why he was rather reluctant to go near the kingdom with bloody history. But he didn't have to stay there for the rest of his life. Just until he had enough money and then he'd go back to the people he considered family, able to help provide for them and make sure they lived comfortably.

 _We won't have to move from place to place anymore_ , he thought and Léon clung to that idea, that hope. In his days here, that'll be the only thing able to sustain him, the only thing that he would and could live for in this place. He wanted to make it a reality. We'll have a place to finally call home. The thought warmed his heart and he was determined.

Now the question remained. Where could he go to work? The Local Binding Post was automatically ruled out because that place only hired frogs (or were they toads? He could never be sure) and the cobbler's workshop was out as well because the only thing he could make was a bow. Maybe he could try the Weapon's Shop? If they were hiring, he was sure that he could be of help. Helping a person find the weapon best suited for them was a small joy to him.

With this plan in mind, he ran off in the direction of the Weapon's Shop, only stopping to buy a map and chart his route. He had no desire to get lost, after all.

* * *

He had hoped for too much, Léon realized as he stood in front of the warg girl behind the counter, but he had accepted that the fact this shop might not have been hiring. So why was he feeling so damn disappointed? He knew not. He felt at home with weapons and the smell of the substance used to make them gleam soothed him. But he was not a war-like young man. He just felt safe and comfortable surrounded by weapons.

"I'm sorry, but we're just not hiring," the girl said and she looked and sounded sincere. Léon closed his eyes and nodded, saying softly, "I understand." He turned and walked away, not bothering to gaze at and analyze the many weapons in sight. He did understand. He really did. But this was the job he could have lived with. So what was he to do now? Look at a different place for a different job and hope they were hiring.

 _Let's try the Adventurer's Guild_ , he thought. It wasn't really a "job", but it was a good source of income. He didn't mind having to become a mercenary if it meant food, money, and a way to make his dream a reality.

Because he was determined to see it come true. For his family's sake, it had to. It just had to, whatever means necessary. But he preferred honest means. The means that won't have him hung from the gallows or spending the rest of his life in prison. Should he get desperate enough, he'll consider unsavory methods to acquire a living.

* * *

There were no monster marks on the wall, but the guildmaster told him to come back when marks are available. Léon was glad and thanked him, feeling better than he did before. It wasn't work yet, but it was something. Yet he understood that he needed something that he could rely on every day for work otherwise he'll be spending all his time waiting for bounties to be put out for monsters. That didn't appeal to him (though hunting monsters did).

A steady source of income could be found where in Balandor, big place that it is? He might not have a choice but to ask around and see if anyone knew a place that needed help. He did not like that idea, yet he was trying not to get desperate. He couldn't very well wander around Balandor all day looking for a shop that needed a new body to help around.

But the first thing to do before he started asking around was to ruin that pottery merchant's job. Honestly, who did he think he was fooling? Anybody who's seen actual authentic Greede-made pots and vases could tell that what the bastard was selling were cheap knock-offs. It pissed him off when merchants weren't being honest in what they sold. Even more so when people were cheated out of their hard-earned money.

"Excuse me sir!" Léon called, running up to the merchant. "Where are those vases from?"

"Greede, of course!" The man said cheerfully. He was obviously thinking he had another sucker to buy his stuff.

Léon felt his left eye twitch with irritation. This bastard was annoying and he wanted nothing more than to knock him on his ass, but he couldn't do that unless he wanted to get banned from another city. Which he didn't want, thank you very much. "Are they...authentic?" He had to grit the last part out. _Catch him unawares_ , he thought to himself.

"A hundred percent," the merchant confirmed, chuckling. Léon made a show of looking at what the older man had on display and at the prices. If he thought the man was a scammer, then the prices just proved it. While the vases in Greede were indeed expensive, the highest price they ever gone was nine hundred gold pieces. The prices of this merchant on the other hand were such that even a noble wouldn't pay it. A decade's earned savings is what this man haggled out of his customers.

He leaned back and put a false look of thoughtfulness as if contemplating whether to spend money or not. Fake looks are what he excelled in and it helped that he had recently taken to covering the lower half of his face with a scarf. It both protected him from the mocking jeers and helped to hide his expressions. He was going to enjoy this immensely.

He inhaled slowly and exhaled quickly. He opened his eyes, looking at the merchant, and said, "You _must_ be an idiot if you believed for even one moment that was going to buy one of your so-called _authentic_ Greedean vases."

The man gaped at him, eyes wide, shocked by his tone and at being called an idiot. Clearly, he hadn't been expecting that. He had been expecting gold to come into his hands and a vase being sold, happy to have found another sucker. _Happy to disappoint you_ , Léon thought with a hidden grin.

Recovering from his shock, the merchant said, "How dare you sir! I have treated you and others with absolute-"

"Disrespect because you tricked people out of their money with false merchandise and unreasonable prices and had hoped to do the same with me," Léon cut him off, once again shocking him into silence. Léon took this moment to observe the older man. He looked to be in his early to mid-forties, judging by the streaks of gray in his hair and the wrinkles on his face just starting to appear. By his clothes, the boy could tell he was well off-but not quite of the noble caste—and he felt a ball of anger grow in his stomach. How much of this guy's money was made honestly and how much was made by scamming the populace?

"I have been to Greede," Léon started softly, "and I have seen real Greedean pottery. _That_ —" he pointed at the display—"is not the real thing. That is just a cheap knock-off made by a lesser merchant." He took a deep breath, willing his anger to stay down, before continuing, voice getting louder with each word, "Made by a lesser merchant and that which you priced so high that many of the working class have no money left to retire. Decades of saved earnings and for what? Fake vases and a greedy merchant who merely wants to pocket money."

The boy noticed a crowd gathering and was glad. Perhaps by chastising this bastard, he could warn them to never buy a single thing from him ever again. It would be enough, however, if this man lost face and was forced to reimbursed the money he had cheated out of so many of them. His hopes were low on both accounts because a situation wouldn't be handled nor ended as easily as that. He felt it in his bones.

"Now you listen here, young man," the merchant was getting angry now. "I would never sell a thing that wasn't authentic. It reflects poorly on merchants."

"It does," Léon agrees, "but it reflects even _more_ poorly on merchants when one of their number pretends what they're selling is real, knowing as they do so they're tricking people out of their money."

The man went red with anger and snarled, "I will not stand for your slander!"

But Léon had no desire to bandy anymore words with the man and so he said, "Apologize to the people whose money you stole, give them their money back, and start being an honest merchant."

"I am an honest merchant! I have broken no laws to make money!" The man bellowed. "You come here and insult me and...and...I will not stand for it!"

Léon hissed out, "You disgust me," and then he left, ignoring the merchant's yells and bellows. He knew this wouldn't be the last time he'll have to deal with this fool. He might as well as get used to the constant headaches because as long as both of them are here there'll never be peace. Hell, he felt a headache coming on right now.

 _Gods give me the strength not to strangle him or anyone, really_ , he pleadingly thought as he went back to his search for a job. He wanted to find one before the Princess's coming-of-age celebration, which would be tomorrow. He's lost some time in arguing with that merchant, not a lot thankfully. But still he scolded himself for it.

 _Keep a cool head_ , he told himself. _The sun is still out. You still have time. You just need to move a lot faster._

He breathed in and out evenly and deeply before continuing onwards, calling for someone's attention and asking if any of the shops were hiring.

* * *

 _Rapacci's Wines, huh?_ Léon thought as he read the sign. He was surprised that a place that dealt with wine would be needing more workers, but then again maybe this Rapacci was short-handed. Either way, he wasn't going to question it so long as he got work to do. He didn't think it would be a particularly hard job, but he accepted that he might be proven wrong.

Léon opened the doors and stepped inside, mentally thanking the kind woman for telling him about Rapacci's Wines needing help. The inside wasn't brightly lit and there wasn't much to say about it, honestly. There was a counter with an old warg, obviously male, behind it, a carpet on the ground, brick walls, shelves adorning the walls, and crates in one corner. Léon found it to be cozy, being reminded of the many places he's stayed in during his youth.

"Excuse me," Léon said to the warg. "Are you Rapacci?"

"Yes," he grunted. "What do ya want?"

Léon wasn't put off by his attitude. It has been a long hot day—it wasn't even over yet—and business for the day has been so slow in all shops. Then tomorrow will come and every noble invited to the princess's debutante ball will be rushing to get her gifts, if they hadn't already acquired their gift to her beforehand of course. Businesses will be busy then and the thought made him shiver. Crowds made him uncomfortable, preferring to be surrounded by a small group or to be on his own.

"I heard that you were hiring, so I came here to ask for a job," Léon explained.

"Do ya have any experience in dealing with wine, such as delivering it to where it's supposed ta go to?" Rapacci asked, getting down to business. He wasn't going to beat around the bush nor deal with pleasantries today. He wasn't in the mood for nonsense.

"Not much," Léon admitted, "but I'm sure it's not hard to do."

Rapacci snorted. "The only thing difficult about it is getting the wine ta where it's supposed ta go on time. If yer laid way by monsters, then the chances of making the delivery on time decreases. They'll still pay for it of course—"

"—but the customer will be angry and less likely to order any more wine from the wine store," Léon finished and then quailed with fear when Rapacci shot him a heated glare, irritated at being interrupted. Like previously mentioned, he wasn't in the mood for nonsense. To be honest, he rarely ever was.

"Two rules, kid: don't interrupt me and don't be a smartass," the old warg said.

"Yes Mr. Rapacci," Léon said quickly, regretting speaking while his (hopefully) new employer was doing so and making a note never to do so again. He lamented that this probably wasn't the best of first impressions ever made.

Rapacci threw a piece of rolled parchment at the boy. "First job, organize the wine bottles by wine type and by grape used. Then label them. Tomorrow, you'll be taking stock. Now get ta work."

Léon nodded, gave a quick, "Yes sir!" And quickly went to work, hoping to establish a work ethic that could help improve the other's opinion of him because it surely had to be a poor one right now, even though they just met today but his chief told him that only one meeting was enough to form an opinion. That's what a first impression, in short, is. An opinion formed from one meeting.

 _Be a good, hard worker and he'll think more positively about you_ , he thought to himself. He currently found himself hoping, also, that Rapacci would give him a few pointers should he have trouble with his current task. Because he had very little experience with wine, after all, so he was unsure what to do but he was a quick learner. Maybe that would work in his favor?

* * *

When Léon finally got to the local inn and paid for a room, his earlier headache had returned with a vengeance. Rapacci had kept him at work until it was late at night, nearing one o'clock in the morning, dissatisfied with his work and forcing him to do it again and again until he got it done right. There was no mercy given and honestly? Léon hadn't expected any mercy for his mistakes. He wouldn't learn if people went easy on him.

He threw his clothes and his scarf in the corner and threw himself on his bed, wearing nothing but his small clothes. He was worn out from the walking around and the work at the wine store. Plus the sleepless nights he had spent trying to get to Balandor.

But damn were his eyes sore and his headache was more than likely not going to let him sleep anytime soon tonight. This had been quite a day and a long one at that. And the heat made it nearly unbearable. He was not looking forward to tomorrow. There was no doubt that it would be a busy day. The castle was sure to order wine. Hell, a lot of people would be ordering wine to celebrate the special day.

 _I really don't understand_ , Léon thought as he turned over onto his stomach, _what the big deal is. It's not like she'll be ruling anytime soon. Then again, if the rumors are true..._

He closed his eyes and did his damnest to ignore the pounding in his temples. _It would bring peace for certain, but I don't think now is the right time for it._

Eventually he fell into a dreamless slumber, the headache fading just enough to let him sleep. He'll need his strength for tomorrow.

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 _ **A/N: Did the rewritten chapter turn out better than the original chapter? I hope so because that was my intention.** _**_I'm not entirely sure I wrote Rapacci's name right, but if I did, victory!_**

 ** _I remember posting a description of Léon in my author's note for the original chapter but I'm not doing that this time because I'd rather just give details of him overtime in the story and not all at once like I did previously._**

 ** _If you want to read the original chapters, check out my writing blog on tumblr. I go by the name of Solis-and-Mond. I'll be posting them there with their original title as well._**

 ** _Until the next chapter. Happy reading._**


	3. Chapter 2: Monsters on Balastor Plain

**Disclaimer:** I don't own White Knight Chronicles nor White Knight Chronicles II. I only own my OCs and this story.

 **A/N** : Forever Free Evergreen, I apologize for writing that chapter summary. I did not realize that the chapter would be spoiled even though I wanted to sum up the main idea. I'm very sorry about that. So from hence forth I will not be doing that anymore.

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 **Chapter 2: Monsters on Balastor Plain**

"The village of Parma is due south of here, pretty simple," Leonard explained.

Maybe for you, Léon thought. You've lived in Blandor your entire life, so it's obvious that you know the way. I don't.

"There's not much to it, but it's a nice enough place," the older boy continued. Then turning to his companion he asked, "Say uh, you're new to Balandor, aren't you?"

"That's correct," Léon nodded.

"Then why don't I show the sights along the way? Sound good?" Leonard offered.

"That sounds fine."

"Just keep a look out for monsters. We're in the wild now," Leonard warned.

"Like those two polkans?" Léon pointed to across the bridge.

"Yeah, exact-what?" Leonard looked quickly to where Léon was pointing.

Sighing, Leonard unsheathed his sword and walked to where the polkans were while Léon un-slung his bow from his back and strung it, with an arrow at the ready, to give the older boy a bit of help. Pulling the string until there was only a little slack left, he let the arrow fly. The arrow hit its target. While Léon had been preparing to fire, Leonard has managed to successfully kill the other. Turning to kill the other, Leonard was surprised by the arrow that suddenly appeared in the polkan's chest. Turning to Léon, he asked, surprised, "You can use a bow?"

"Well...yes. Where I am from it is only natural to learn the art of hunting and swordsmanship," Léon explained.

"So you can use a sword too?"

"Yes though I am much better with a bow."

"That makes our job somewhat easier," Leonard said with a wan smile. It occured to Léon that his taller companion was under a lot of stress. He knew how hard a merchant's life could be...he knew all too well.

They resumed their walk to Parma, although Léon felt that they should be running to Parma since their lives depended on getting the wine back to Balandor before the sun set.

"Hey Léon?"

"Hm?" Léon looked curiously at his companion.

"...I...well...Nevermind," Leonard shook his head.

"Okay..."

And so the walk continued in silence.

Leonard was curious about his companion, but he wouldn't pry into the younger's business. After all they've only met today. They were complete strangers to each other. But Leonard hoped they could become friends.

They stopped when they neared a group of polkans.

"Do we fight or do we walk around?" Léon asked.

"Polkans are less hostile than vespids," Leonard stated.

"Meaning?"

"Polkans are less likely to attack you when you walk past then than a vespid. When you walk past a vespid it thinks you're making a hostile movement and it attacks you," Leonard explained.

"Ah. So walk around the polkans," Léon said.

"We could fight, but that would take time and time is something we need to be using wisely," Leonard mused. Léon just nodded in agreement.

They walked past the group of polkans. The polkans didn't seem to notice.

 **~Time Skip~**

Leonard quickly killed the last giant vespid while Léon killed the last of the polkan. They had been surrounded by giant vespids when the two companions had fought the vespids some polkan joined the fight and tried to kill the young men.

"One thing I forgot to mention was that when a fight is going on polkans are likely to join," Leonard panted as they rested.

"You think?" Léon muttered as he panted.

"Sorry about that," Leonard said sheepishly.

They sat on the ground and rested. They needed the rest. They had fought monsters since the moment they stepped foot on the plain.

Léon looked upwards, towards the clouds. To be a cloud, Léon thought. To be so carefree and just drift on by as the days do. To have people look at you as you pass by in the sky.

He sighed. I wish I could be a cloud. Then I wouldn't have to worry 'bout anything.

Léon stood up, sighing. "Let's get going," he said to Leonard.

"Right," the older boy grinned.

And they resumed the walk to Parma.

* * *

 _ **A/N: And...here's chapter two. Is it good? Bad? Let me know what you think! Read and Review.**_


	4. Chapter 3: Welcome to Parma

**A/N:** Alright. Thank you for the reviews. Especially yours, Forever Free Evergreen. I appreciate the feedback. It encourages me to work. Not fast like lightning, but feedback makes me work all the same. I want you guys to read a story that you'll like. Criticism is welcome. Flames and bashing is (are) not.

All right. I hope you all like this chapter.

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 **Chapter 3: Welcome to Parma**

"How much further?" Léon asked as he tried to keep pace with Leonard.

"Not much further now. We're almost there," Leonard answered. He looked quickly to the sky. The sky was still bright with daylight, but...Leonard glanced briefly at their shadows. Judging by the direction where their shadows were, he would roughly guess it was about one o'clock.

 _We still have some time,_ Leonard thought. _If we're lucky, and there are no delays, we just might make it to and from Parma before sunset. But then again...when did anything_ ever _go my way?_

"Tell me about Parma," Léon said suddenly, startling Leonard slightly.

"What?" Leonard looked at the shorter boy.

"Parma. Tell me about it," Léon said.

"Well...it's a small village with a general store, an armory, a jewler's store, an adventurer's guild, and a bar," the orangish-brown haired teen said. "A small village known for its wine, beauty, and food."

"And the people?" the hooded boy asked.

"Decent enough," the other replied. "My friend Yulie lives in Parma.

"Yulie?"

"She helps out with the wine."

Léon took sometime absorbing this and when he was finished, he said, "And Parma is where we'll get the beastswain."

"Right." Leonard nodded.

"Well...let's get our asses movin'," Léon said as he ran ahead.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Leonard cried as he chased after him.

 **~Time Skip~**

It took a while but Léon and Leonard finally stepped into Parma, panting from the extertion of them running all the way there and fighting monsters.

Leonard look around as he said, "Here we are. Welcome to Parma."

"Hey! You're on time for once," a girl said from behind them. The two boys turned around and there standing behind them was a girl with purple hair.

 _Are we really?_ Léon thought. _What time is it?_

"Yulie!" Leonard cried, happy to see his friend.

"How've you been there, Leonard?" the girl-Yulie-asked as she walked towards them.

"Oh! You must be the new guy," Yulie said as she looked at Léon when she walked past. "Rapacci told me you were coming. Glad you could make it."

"Name's Léon," the hooded boy said.

"Why on earth are you wearing a bandana around your face?" she asked.

"Reasons," was the short reply.

"Okay. I was just asking," Yulie said as she put up her hands. To them both she said, with her hands on hips, "The wine's all set to go-" she turned and beckoned them to follow-"follow me."

Then she walked away.

Léon was a bit stunned and then said to himself, "What's with the purple hair?"

"She was born with it," Leonard said as he followed Yulie.

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 _ **A/N: Chapter 3...done. A rather short chapter. Next time I'll try to write more, I promise. In this chapter, we meet Yulie and** **find** **that Léon is curious about Parma. In the next chapter...I'm not gonna say. Read and Review. Did you like it? Did you dislike it? Let me know! Please?**_


	5. Chapter 4: A drunk papitaur and a troll

**Starter Note:** Thanks for the reviews. I appreciate them. However, I have something to say. As to whether or not I'll be pairing Leonard with Léon or him kissing him is still, as of yet, undecided.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own White Knight Chronicles nor White Knight Chronicles II. I only own my OCs and this story.

Read On!

* * *

 **Chapter 4: A drunk papitaur and stopped by a troll on the way home**

Léon trailed after Leonard, shaking his head.

 _Leonard sure knows strange people,_ he thought, somewhat amused. _But then again he is kind of strange himself, so I shouldn't be too surprised._

Léon was kind of surprised at that thought. He hasn't known the older boy every long and he's _already_ making judgements on him. Shaking his head, Léon scolded himself for his thought. He shouldn't be quick to pass judgements on those he barely knows.

So resolving to not pass judgements so soon, he decided to wait a year after working alongside Leonard before deciding whether the orangish-brown haired boy was strange or not.

Léon decided to look around the shops before he met up with Leonard and Yulie.

His first stop was at the Armory. His first reaction was disappointment to the lack of variety in weapons and the ridiculous cotton clothing (that 'armor' would not give much protection against monsters). His second reaction was to shake his head as he saw the not-so great craftsmanship of the weapons. He briefly wondered where the blacksmith learned his trade. Looking at the warg behind the counter, he felt ashamed for his thought on the craftsmanship. It was obvious, to him at least, that the warg was still learning the tools of his trade. Sighing, Léon left the shop. He would have to wait until the return trip to Balandor to have his sword repaired.

His next stop was at the Jeweler, but after a quick look around he left the shop. There was nothing for him there.

His third and final stop was at the General Store. He bought four heal potions there.

Satisfied, Léon went to find Leonard and Yulie.

* * *

Finding the two hadn't been difficult. They had been waiting on the bridge for him.

"What were you doing?" Leonard asked, curious.

"I was visiting the shops," Léon answered honestly. "At the General Store, I bought four heal potions."

"Why didn't you buy heal potions before we left Balandor?"

Léon shrugged. "Honestly, I just wanted us to get to Parma, get the wine, and return to Balandor without wasting time."

"Buying heal potions is _not_ a waste of time," Yulie lectured. "It's a necessity when going out in the wild."

"Here we go again," Leonard muttered under his breath. Turning to Yulie, he said, in a louder voice, "As much as I want to hear another heal potion lecture, we're running on a tight schedule and I much rather not be skinned alive by Rapacci."

Huffing, Yulie crossed the bridge, made a slight left turn, and walked towards the big four-legged near the houses across the bridge, with the two boys following behind her.

"You must be kidding," Leonard said when he saw the beastwain while Léon said, "Sweet Queen Mureas, _that's_ the beastwain?"

"Don't let his looks fool you. He's a big old pussycat," Yulie said with a small laugh.

"I doubt that," Léon muttered never taking his eyes off the beastswain.

"Believe what you like," Yulie sighed. Looking around, she said, "Now...Where...?"

With a slight tsk, she continued, "Raus said he'd be here."

"Raus? Who's Raus?" the shorter of the two boys asked curiously.

"Your driver," she explained. "Raus is the only one here can get this fella to pull the wain. It won't move a step, not without Raus's say-so."

"So where the hell is he?" Léon asked.

Yulie gave him a a look that said 'be-patient' but she understood the hurry. Knowing Rapacci, he probably threatened to skin one of them alive, possibly Leonard. "Well, I have a sneaking suspicion that he may be drinking again."

"Perfect," Léon threw up his hands. "Now we have to go look for a drunkard _and_ worry about getting back home before sunset."

"Hey cheer up, why don't you?" Leonard said looking at him. "We'll find this Raus and we'll get back to Balandor before nightfall, I'm sure of it."

"If we don't, I will not hesitate to hit you for that remark."

"All right, boys, let's just find Raus," Yulie said and adding under her breath, "and pull his ears if he's drunk again."

"Fine," the boys chorused in unison.

* * *

Finding Raus, in Léon's opinion, did not take long at all. Nope. Not at all.

Walking into the horse pasture, he spotted a papitaur sitting on the ground, leaning against a crate, with a few empty bottles of alcohol near him. He appeared to be sleeping.

Pointing towards the sleeping papitaur, Léon asked, looking at the two behind him, "Is that drunk papitaur Raus?"

"Raus, you oaf!" Yulie half-yelled as she quickly made her way towards the unconscious papitaur, lifted him by the scruff of his neck, and shook him awake.

"Ohh, dear me! Did I doze off again?" Raus asked. He sounded a bit distressed.

" _This is_ where you were hiding? I told you not to be late!" Yulie sounded very mad at the squirming papitaur in her grasp.

"Umm...Yulie, maybe you should let him go," Leonard said. With a "hmph!" Yulie did as he said.

Of course, Raus ran behind Léon and said, frightened, "Please don't be mad, Miss Yulie! I am so sorry!"

Leonard gently tapped Yulie's shoulder and pointed towards the empty bottles. Yulie's rage came back in full swing as she turned towards Raus and said, angrily, " _And_ you were drinking... _again_!"

"I am so sorry, Miss Yulie!" the papitaur wailed.

"You'll be even sorrier if Leonard-" she jerked a thumb at the boys-"gets skinned alive by Rapacci because you drank yourself unconscious!"

Leonard hung his head down at the reminder that if he was late he was dead meat. Léon gently patted the other's back and said, "I'm sure Rapacci will show _some_ mercy towards you."

"Rapacci and mercy? Those are two words that _don't_ go together," Leonard said, crossing his arms. "He'll flay me alive if I'm late. No. Kill me _then_ flay me."

Léon looked at him with sympathy. While he didn't believe Rappaci would murder Leonard simply for a late delivery, the younger had no doubt that the old warg wasn't going to let his employee off easily. For failure, no employer would.

Yulie turned towards them and said, "Let's go get the beastwain ready and get on out of here."

 **~Time Skip~**

 _That took longer than expected,_ Léon thought looking up at the darkening sky. _It's almost sunset._

To Leonard, he said, "Let's just _pray_ that there'll be no more delays."

"Amen," Leonard muttered. Turning to Yulie, he questioned,"Is that everything?"

"Yep," Yulie nodded. The beastwain made a sound that sounded almost like a yawn. "You're all set to go."

"It's starting to get dark," Leonard said looking at the sky. "We'd better haul cask."

"Yeah...thanks for the help, Yulie," Léon said as he began to walk away.

Yulie turned towards the orangish-brown haired boy and said, "Okay, Leonard, like I mentioned before, Raus here will be driving the beastwain." She gave a glare towards the paptitaur. It was obvious that she hadn't quite forgiven him for being late yet.

Raus gave a nervous chuckle and said, "Hello. Happy to assist, Chief. By the way, if I happen to doze off...again...kindly wake me up before this beastie remembers I forgot to feed it breakfast and turns me into a late lunch!"

"Will do," Léon muttered.

Giving the boys an apologetic look, the purple-haired girl said, "He's kind of weird, but he gets the job done."

"Right…" Leonard sounded somewhat unsure.

"Well…off we go!" Yulie said as she moved to follow Léon.

"'We'? You're coming too?" Leonard was somewhat surprised to hear that while Léon didn't mind the girl's company.

"Well, yeah! I wouldn't miss this party for the world!" Yulie said, facing Leonard and moving her hands excitedly. Putting her hands on her hips, she demanded, "What, you don't want the extra help?"

The look on her face was _daring_ Leonard to challenge her and the boy had no desire to take her up on that dare.

"Oh for the love of-! Just let her come! We're wasting time and we're going to need another person to help with the monsters on the Plains, anyway," the shorter boy sounded exasperated.

With a sigh, the taller boy nodded.

"Good," Yulie said, turning away. "Now, come on. We're late as it is."

With the beastwain following behind, the three left Parma and began the somewhat long trek back to Balandor.

* * *

Léon rubbed his arms after the last vespid was killed.

"I really hate those things," he muttered.

"Who doesn't?" Yulie said in response.

"Maybe vespids are only attacking us because Léon is with us," Leonard laughed, but sobered up immediately after the dark look Léon gave him. "Sorry. I was only joking"

The shorter boy nodded and moved on ahead. Leonard shuddered.

 _Who knew that with so little face visible he could strike a bit of fear into a man's heart?_ Leonard thought.

When he turned to look at Yulie, she simply said, "New rule: don't make jokes about Léon _or_ at his expense."

Leonard, not wanting another dark look from said-boy ever again, nodded quickly.

"Hurry the hell up, you two!" they heard the voice of their impatient companion call out.

"Okay!" they called back in unison and ran to catch up with him.

Léon didn't glance at them once they caught up; he was too busy with his thoughts.

 _I wonder how everyone's doing,_ he thought. _Are they still making enough money to get by? And how is Sparrow? Is…he still as I left him? Whole and alive?_

It was evident, not to Leonard and Yulie, of course, because they did not know the people he was thinking about, that Léon was worried about his former friends and hoped they were alive and well and still able to get by. Although, he wondered if anything's changed.

 _Of course it has,_ he mentally scolded himself. _I left and I, undoubtedly, have been replaced._

He was shaken from his thoughts when he felt Leonard's hand on his shoulder. Startled, he looked up at the other boy.

"Are you okay?" Leonard was a bit concerned.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" Léon said.

"Well...you looked kind of worried about something," Yulie said. "We just wondered what caused it."

"Nothing," he answered coolly, slapping Leonard's hand off his shoulder. "It doesn't concern you."

 _That_ answered concerned them because earlier in the day Léon had been, not exactly cheerful, but in a good mood. Both of them decided that the next new rule was "Don't ask Léon anything that he doesn't want to talk about."

* * *

Leonard suddenly stopped them. "Wait, something's wrong."

"Hmm? What's wrong, Leonard?" Yulie was curious.

"Something's not right," Léon answered for the orangish-brown haired boy.

"'Not right'?" Yulie said. And then asked, "What is it?"

Raus asked, "What's wrong, Chief?"

"You don't hear that?" Leonard questioned.

Léon looked around while removing his bow from his back and giving it to Yulie, along with his quiver of arrows, and said, "I hear it, Leonard. Yulie, you might need this."

"A bow? But...this is _your_ weapon! I can't take it," she protested. "And why would I need it?"

Suddenly the birds flew and there was something that sounded like something big was walking.

 _Thud. Thud. Thud._

And Yulie's questioned was answered when they saw the troll that was _moving towards them_.

"Ah crap," Léon murmured while at the same time Leonard yelled, "Dammit! It must have smelled the wine!"

"Oh no! What do we do, Chief?" Raus cried.

"The only thing obvious..." Léon began and Leonard finished with, "We fight!"

Without hesitation, the two boys drew their swords and Léon said to Yulie, "Stay here, guard the beastwain and Raus, and whatever you do _don't let the damn thing near the wine!_ "

Moving quickly, the boys ran towards the troll, swords drawn, and Yulie nocked an arrow.

 **~One long and tedious fight later~**

Leonard let out a breath of relief once the troll fell to the ground, dead.

"My heavens," Léon muttered. "What the hell is a Sylvan troll doing in these parts?"

"The wine, Léon. It smelled the damn wine and came to rob us," Leonard snapped and quickly apologize when he saw the stunned look on Léon's face. It was clear that the boy wasn't used to people snapping at him.

"Well, we survived. And it looks like the wine is okay too," Yulie said coming up to them.

"Nice going, Chief! I thought I'd napped my last nap for sure!" Raus was quite relieved.

"The three of us can handle one little troll," Leonard said, as though to reassure the papitaur. "And besides it's Rapacci I'm scared of."

"He did threaten to kill you if we came back late," Léon said.

Leonard glared at him. "Thanks for reminding me, Léon," he said icily. Léon gave a small giggle.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Longer chapter! Yay! ^^_**

 ** _No fight scene because I can't write fight scenes very well. Maybe in later chapters, I'll try my hand at it. About who Léon_** **_was thinking about, I'll reveal that in time._**

 ** _As I've mentioned before, I'm not entirely sure if whether or not Leonard x Léon should be the pairing of this story. The reason being, I'm scared that it might end up taking away from this story, that'll end up being the sole focus. I don't want that. I don't want the pairing to be all "Bam! In your face!" And I've got to do some more character building too before I can even make a decision. I've also got to think how I want this story to go too and...some things.  
_**

 ** _Also, I took liberties with the WKC script; I added things and changed a few things. Hehehehe! I expanded Rapacci's character a wee bit. That seems like the sort of thing he would do...right?_**

 ** _Read and review, please! Hearing (or_** **_rather_** **reading)** ** _what you think of the chapter makes me happy! ^^_**

 ** _Edit: if you want to know why I wrote what I wrote about Parma's Armory. I'll tell you: that is how Léon sees it. He sees it as not-so great because he's seen the works of master blacksmiths so many times and bought weapons from them that small village blacksmiths just…don't compare in his opinion._**


	6. Filler chapter

_**To my**_ _**readers of this story...I am so so**_ _**so**_ _**so**_ _**sorry for taking so long to update this. I've been busy with off-line life and college (recently started whoo!) and I've have like a million ideas for stories that my brain refuses to focus on just one. Bastard brain.**_

 _ **Anyway...I'm going to re-write chapters 1-4...the reason being (no getting around it) that they aren't long enough and I'm no longer as satisfied**_ _**with them as I once was.**_

 _ **I still like the prelude, prologue...the chapter before chapter 1. That took me days to write because I kept changing my**_ _**mind on how it was going to go. I'm satisfied with that result.**_

 _ **If you go back and read chapters 1-4 again and notice they aren't the same...that's because they've been re-written and I didn't want to go and start all over again like I would with a new story.**_

 _ **So**_ _**while I go rewrite those chapters, have a nice drabble-like filler in the meantime.**_

 _ **(Also, when I finish rewriting, should I delete this from the story?)**_

 _ **Read and review, please.**_

* * *

"Léon, why do you keep your face covered?" Leonard asked the younger boy as he went to change his clothes. Léon walked behind the changing wall and said in reply, "That's like me asking why you have your hair pulled back despite the short mess of it."

Leonard gingerly touched his low ponytail and couldn't formulate a proper response beyond, "To keep it out of my face?"

Léon laughed at that and the older boy was surprised by how high and sweet it sounded. That sounder certainly did not fit the gruff, serious boy that he traveled with. He had been expecting something lower and rougher to the ears, but he was glad to be proven wrong. Leonard couldn't help the small smile that crossed his face.

He turned his head away as he saw clothes get thrown over the wall, cheeks flushing a soft pink and then he berated himself. He shouldn't be getting embarrassed! It's just clothes! He hadn't seen Léon naked so there was no need to be flustered. Maybe his reaction was because not many people changed clothes _while some else was still in the room_. None but the boldest of people at least. Bolder still if they didn't do so behind a changing wall. But that's stretching propriety.

"And this is how I look without all those layers," Léon said as he came out from behind the wall. Leonard turned his head and his eyes widened considerably. If he hadn't expected the laugh, then he certainly hadn't expected what Léon looked like.

 _This must be his reason_ , he thought, _for covering his face_.

* * *

 _ **A/N: And I'll end it there. Can't spoil too many of my**_ _**boy's secrets in one go, after all. Before you ask, no he's not actually**_ _**female and no**_ _**he doesn't have any skin conditions. I'll explain further on in the story. When does this scene take place? Not entirely sure yet.**_


End file.
